The US Embassy is pleased to announce the selection of Abner Mercado, Senior Correspondent of ABS-CBN News, and Daisy Arellano Sayangda, Municipal Mayor of Santol, La Union 2012’S Aquino Fellows.

Their awards were conferred during a luncheon ceremony on November 14 the US Embassy’s Charles Parsons Ballroom led by the President’s sister Ballsy Aquino Cruz and US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr.

The US Embassy initiated the Aquino Fellows program in 1988 in collaboration with the Aquino Foundation to commemorate Senator Ninoy Aquino’s contributions to the fields of journalism and public service. After President Corazon Aquino’s passing in 2009, the fellowship was renamed “Ninoy and Cory Aquino Fellowship for Professional Development” to honor her lifelong contributions to strengthening democratic institutions in the Philippines.

Aquino Fellows are specially selected from among future participants in the US Embassy’s annual International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). The IVLP Program is the premier professional exchange program of the US Department of State that seeks to build mutual understanding between the US and other nations. Launched in 1940, the IVLP Program involves carefully designed short-term visits to the US for current and emerging foreign leaders.

As Aquino Fellows, Mercado and Sayangda will travel to the United States to take part in three-week IVLP exchange programs focused on developing and broadening their professional expertise and contacts within their chosen field or area of interest. They will attend meetings with American counterparts, examine American systems of government at the national, state and local levels, visit American academic institutions, and experience American culture and society. They will also have the chance to share their own culture and offer insights on best practices and perspectives with their American hosts.

Mercado was selected as the 2013 Ninoy and Cory Aquino Fellow for Journalism because his work as a societal influencer echoes Ninoy Aquino’s significant contributions to establishing a free and responsible media despite the odds. Mercado’s television program informs and encourages Filipinos to contribute their share in providing solutions to pressing social concerns. His participation in the International Visitor Leadership Program will, in the long run, be of potential benefit to the Filipino audience and foster continued commitment to press freedom and responsibility in the Philippines.

Sayangda, Municipal Mayor of Santol, La Union, was chosen as the 2013 Ninoy and Cory Aquino Fellow for Public Service because she represents the “new face” of Filipino leadership. She earned the respect of her constituents and partners in the national government by quietly working to address her municipality’s challenges, and her courage and resolve echo those of Cory Aquino who bravely faced the dictatorship despite grave threats to her person and family.